It was dawn by the time Ushi returned home. He staggered into the house, drained from Leo"s pressure, he had suffered a huge blow. The Su family was too powerful, his family was considered Nuevo rich. The Kim family only gained their fortune by the time his father was in his teens. They only had a few connections and relied heavily on their business partners. Kei had backed him into a corner and Ushi hated it.Ushi had to think about his family and his love. He had given in to Kei"s terms and conditions. He had to destroy his relationship with Kyomi in order for everyone to stay safe. He had to do it in a way that would cause her the most damage and report back to Kei. He hated how weak he was but there was nothing he could do. When the contract was given to him all he could do was stare. Kei reminded him what he could be losing if he didn"t sign, with great difficulty Ushi signed a contract, he sold his soul.
Without making a sound Ushi made his way to Kyomi"s room. He opened the door silently then walked in. He stood before Kyomi and gently touched her face. Traces of tears still clung to her eyelashes. With trembling lips Ushi placed a kiss on Kyomi"s forehead. He wished time would stand still because the moment she woke up their lives would change. He left the room with silent tears spilling from his eyes.
True to his word, Ushi started to distance himself from Kyomi. However he never thought the Kyomi would come up with a convenient excuse. It killed him that he used all his free time to study but if he could take over his father"s company and make it grow in a few years time he could challange Kei on equal grounds.
Almost every night Kyomi would come to his room to bring him a snack. The moment she entered he would become self conscious. He would continue to write but it would be nothiung related to his studies. He noted every little detail about Kyomi, listen to her breathing and soft movements. He often found it hard to hold back his urge to talk to her, even acknowledge her existence. For months Ushi lived in torture but Kei was true to his word, Ushi"s loved ones were left alone.
Ushi"s marks sky rocketed. He was making a bigger name for himself in school and soon he started to submit business propositions to his father"s company. Their wealth and power were slowly growing. His father was ecstatic that Ushi had taken an interest in the company and even took the initiative to educate himself to take over. Everything was peaceful.
Until one day Ushi received an unmarked letter. It horrified him as it was laying in the middle of his desk. None of the servents brought it into his room nor was in within the mail that was picked up. With trembling hands Ushi opened the letter. To his horror there were detailed plans on how Kim Enterprises was going to be taken down. Names of people who were secretly working for the Su family were placed on the board of directors, pictures of his parents having illicit affairs and pictures of Ushi cheating and bribing people.
Ushi felt sick. He never cheated or bribed anyone, he also believed his parents were honourable people. If his pictures were doctored then his parents could have been too. However there was a chance that it could be true. Ushi started to go insane. He flipped over the letter and in big bold writing was written 24 hours you know what to do. Ushi felt sick. There was never a time line written in the contract but Kei was playing dirty to get Ushi to do his bidding.
At that moment Kyomi walked in. Ushi hid the letter in his drawer. He was an emotional mess and Kyomi was his only life line at that moment. He cracked. He couldn"t hold back anymore, he lost his mind and he did something stupid. He never wanted to be that intimate with Kyomi until he settled everything but he needed to feel her warmth, her love to stay sane.
He looked at Kyomi"s sleeping face and sighed. He grabbed his phone and texted Kei. Wait to hear news. Then he opened his web search and looked up the last thing he thought he would do. Ushi didn"t sleep. He spent the remaining bight trying to memorize every line and curve on Kyomi"s face. When Kyomi started to stir Ushi got up and jumped into the shower.
When everyone was down for breakfast he announced his intentions of forgoing the University exams and going straight to the army to complete his conscription. Then he broke up with Kyomi in front of his family and it practically killed him. It wasn"t what he wanted to do, he wanted to stall but time was not on his side.
Ushi"s father called him to the study and Ushi readily obliged. He couldn"t stomach what he had done to Kyomi and needed to escape. "What are you doing?!" His father spat. Ushi just looked at his father with cold, indifferent eyes. "Protecting the ones I love." He said before leaving the study.
Ushi"s father chased after him as Ushi took long, powerful strides towards his room. He started to pack his bags. "Ushi!" Mr. Kim hissed. Ushi yanked open his drawer and grabbed the letter. He pressed it against his father"s chest, giving him an even colder glare before returning to his packing. Ushi"s father looked at the letter and paled. "Ushi this isn"t true." Mr. Kim started to explain.
"Save it!" Ushi growled. "I can"t stay and now you know why. Protect each other, I can"t come back." Ushi said as his shoulders started to shake. Ushi"s father walked up to Ushi and placed his forehead against the back of Ushi"s head. "I"m so sorry Ushi." He whispered.
....
Ushi straightened out his uniform and cleaned up his face in his private bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror. He saw that being in the army had toughened him up incredibly, all traces of his boyish good looks had disappeared. Now a stoic man stood there staring back at him. Ushi couldn"t stomach the look in this man"s eyes. He punched the mirror. It shattered under his fist, a great number of gla.s.s pieces indented and created multiple images of the now matured Ushi.
Ushi clicked his tongue and walked out the door. "Kei, I hope your ready for me now." He said darkly as he walked out of his destroyed office.